Duavata Partnership

Fiji and New Zealand

Our relationship

Fiji and New Zealand are natural partners.

Our relationship is long-standing. It reflects close ties spanning culture, sport, business, tourism, education, and people-to-people links.

New Zealanders and Fijians have served together in World War Two and in peacekeeping missions in the Pacific and the Middle East. We have come to each other’s aid during recent cyclone events. We have shared heritage through the Commonwealth.

Visitors travel between our countries to holiday, work, and study. Large diaspora communities call both countries home. What happens in Fiji matters for New Zealand; and vice versa.

The Partnership

Our cooperation has been formalised through an agreement known as the Duavata Partnership.

’Duavata’ is a word in Fijian / Na vosa vaka-Viti, meaning ‘working together’ or ‘partnership’.

This agreement affirms our joint ambitions. It has a foundation of shared values, and sets out mutually agreed priority areas where our countries will coordinate and cooperate. It means that our Governments are working on the issues that matter the most to our peoples, and that bring us together.

The agreement confirms that we will consult on mutual interests, with regular engagement at the highest level.

New Zealand and Fiji can hold each other mutually accountable under the agreement, ensuring a strong focus on results.

What are our priority areas?

The Duavata Partnership is split into five priority areas for cooperation.

Priority area 1 - Partnership, democracy and values

How we partner to improve the administration of law, governance and democracy

Priority area 2 – Economic resilience

What we do to make our people more prosperous, and to make our economies more resilient.

Priority area 3 – Security

Including the work our police forces and militaries do to keep the Pacific region safe.

Priority area 4 – Social well-being

Covering social support, including health sector engagement, education and support to increase the participation of women in Fiji society.

Priority area 5 – Climate change and disaster resilience

Including responses to the increasing range of significant weather events impacting the Pacific.

What happens next?

The Prime Ministers of Fiji and New Zealand have committed to renewing the Duavata Partnership before it expires at the end of 2025.

This means looking at the areas we are cooperating and assessing what is most effective. It means asking what more we can do together in a changing world. It means finding how we can continue improving our cooperation, for the benefit of our peoples.